Case Study

This month’s miracle makeover features the Chanel 2.55 bag mentioned in our August ‘If You Could Turn Back Time’ journal post ‘-having the power to rewrite the destiny of a Chanel Bag can be thrilling’.

Chanel is timeless and has become a heritage brand, so this inherited Chanel bag deserved all the attention. It arrived well-loved with some stains, discolouration and the leather crinkled in places and so the suggestion to re-colour from white to black made perfect sense. Although it could have been restored to its original colour, the opportunity for a change was too tempting for our client. It feels like new!

PREPARATION IS KEY

To properly analyse the bag’s true condition, a preparatory deep clean was required. The bag was also partially dismantled by removing the leather strips from the chains.

Next the leather was stripped back with an alcohol-based solution. This prepared the surface for dying and helped to return the suppleness of the lambskin – improving its longevity. The Head of Atelier was surprised by how clean the lining came out and took the decision to keep the lining the original white colour, creating an monochrome design – perfectly in keeping with Chanel’s classic aesthetic! Tres chic!

Before the re-colour

Before the re-colour

COLOUR ME

As with most things in life, the devil is in the detail so some essential steps were followed to ensure a flawless result. The smaller areas were painted first. The quilted style of the bag meant there were many stitches. Here, a lighter version of the leather paint was used so the stitching absorbed the colour. Then areas like the corners and around the zippers were double-checked to avoid even tiny white spots. The Head of Atelier, Thais, then worked on the larger areas and between the stitching, by applying three super fine coats to gently build the colour. This created a perfect black surface without compromising the touch of the leather.

Painting the small areas first

Plating the strap

FINISHING LINE

Our tastes are always evolving: shiny hardware teamed with supple leather currently ticks all the boxes. So we chose a semi-matte finish for the final coat over the new black colour to create a stunning visual contrast. Finally, the leather removed from the strap at the beginning was re-coloured before carefully plating it through chain strap.

WE CAN DO BRIGHT COLOURS TOO!

Interested in re-colouring a bag or even shoes? Get in touch and book a collection today, once we receive your items we can explore all the possibilities. The choices of colours are endless and with a bit of creativity, the potential is sky-high! Our Atelier will work with you to find great solutions that suit you.